Ted Kravitz spotted Lewis Hamilton repeatedly shaking his head in the Monza pit lane after Charles Leclerc’s heavy crash brought Ferrari’s Italian Grand Prix to a dramatic halt. The Sky Sports F1 reporter watched Hamilton walk back towards the team’s garage during the red-flag period as the scale of Ferrari’s disastrous opening laps began to sink in.
The home race had started with considerable promise for the Scuderia after Charles Leclerc qualified third and Hamilton fourth, locking out the second row behind Pierre Gasly, who had secured his maiden Formula 1 pole position. Within only a few laps, however, one Ferrari was in the barriers and the other had fallen to eighth.
Ferrari’s Monza race unravels within the opening laps
Lewis Hamilton’s difficulties began at the first chicane. The seven-time world champion ran wide at Turn 2 and lost several positions, having claimed over team radio that Charles Leclerc had forced him off the circuit. The stewards began investigating the incident, but Leclerc’s race ended before a verdict could be reached.
On lap three, the Monegasque lost control of his SF-26 through Parabolica and hit the barriers heavily. The accident bore a striking resemblance to his crash at the same corner during the 2020 Italian Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc quickly climbed out of the damaged car before being taken to the medical centre for precautionary checks. Race control then stopped the Grand Prix with a red flag while marshals repaired the tyre barrier.
Ferrari investigates Charles Leclerc’s Parabolica crash
Martin Brundle and David Coulthard both examined the accident and reached a similar conclusion over the sudden loss of stability. Their analysis focused on Leclerc touching the white line as the Ferrari became unsettled through Parabolica.
While the race was suspended, Frédéric Vasseur and Ferrari’s engineers immediately began trying to understand what had happened. Kravitz, whose pit-lane position was next to the Ferrari garage, observed the team principal discussing the incident with his engineers and reported that Vasseur wanted to establish whether a torque spike or a brief surge of power might have contributed.
The investigation therefore extended beyond the visible loss of control itself, with the Maranello team trying to understand the behaviour of the car before the impact. Further coverage of the SF-26 and its technical characteristics can be found in our Ferrari technical analysis section.
Ted Kravitz notices Lewis Hamilton shaking his head
Kravitz described an atmosphere of disbelief around the Ferrari garage, noting how significant the moment was for the Tifosi, Charles Leclerc’s supporters and Frédéric Vasseur. From his position alongside the team, he observed that the mechanics appeared to be struggling to comprehend how quickly Ferrari’s home Grand Prix had gone wrong.
Attention then turned to Lewis Hamilton, whose race was still alive despite his opening-lap setback. Kravitz saw the British driver walking through the pit lane with his physio Angela and noticed that Hamilton was shaking his head as he made his way back towards the garage.
The Sky Sports F1 reporter interpreted Hamilton’s body language as a sign that he was struggling to take in the sequence of events. Ferrari had gone from starting both cars on the second row to having Leclerc eliminated in the barriers and Hamilton down in eighth after being compromised during the opening exchanges.
Ferrari left with one car after promising second-row start
The contrast was particularly painful given Ferrari’s starting positions. Leclerc and Hamilton had lined up directly behind the front row, offering the Italian team a strong platform for its home race before the first few laps transformed the situation completely.
With Charles Leclerc out and the barriers requiring repairs, Ferrari’s focus during the stoppage shifted both to understanding the accident and to salvaging what remained possible with Lewis Hamilton. The Briton was still in the race, but his early loss of positions had already left the Scuderia facing a far more difficult afternoon than its second-row lockout had suggested.
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